Rajshahi Division

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Rajshahi Division (Bengali: রাজশাহী বিভাগ) is one of the seven administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It has an area of 18,174.4 km²[citation needed] and a population at the 2011 Census of 18,329,000 (preliminary figures). Rajshahi Division consists of 8 districts, 70 Upazilas (the next lower administrative tier) and 1,092 Unions (the lowest administrative tier). This division is characterized by its cheap labour force. It has an excellent rail and road communication infrastructure. The divisional capital of Rajshahi is only six-seven hours road journey away from Dhaka, the capital city.

Until 2010 this Division comprised 16 districts,[1] but early in that year it was divided into two, when a new Division (Rangpur Division) was formed out of the 8 northerly districts that until then had been part of Rajshahi Division. Rajshahi was dominated by various Rajas, Maharajas and Zamindars.[2]

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Rajshahi division is in the mid western corner of Bangladesh. The famous river Padma borders Rajshahi division on the south and another famous river, Jamuna, lies across the eastern border. In the West, Rajshahi division shares a border with India.

The major cities of Rajshahi division are Rajshahi, Joypurhat, Bogra and Pabna. Rajshahi has an airport, with daily flights to Dhaka; however at present the government has suspended the air service between Rajshahi and Dhaka.

Rajshahi is well known for its fruit, particularly for mango and lichi. Rajshahi also produces a lot of vegetables like potato, carrot, rice, onion etc. Joypurhat is second in the ranking of producing potato.